Co-owner Briana Pennell, of Norwalk, serves a cappuccino to customer Myles MacVane, of Westport, at the newly-opened Steam Coffee Bar at the Greens Farms train station in Westport on Tuesday, August 6, 2013.

Co-owner Briana Pennell, of Norwalk, serves a cappuccino to customer Myles MacVane, of Westport, at the newly-opened Steam Coffee Bar at the Greens Farms train station in Westport on Tuesday, August 6, 2013.

Chris Barrett earned money throughout college at the University of Connecticut’s Stamford campus by working in restaurants, but opening his own place took him into a previously untapped territory: coffee.

Barrett, a Stamford native, opened the Steam Coffee Bar last week with his step-sister, Briana Pennell, a pastry chef from Norwalk. The coffee shop is tucked into the newly renovated Greens Farms train station, a historic building that’s mostly a rush of bleary-eyed commuters during Steam’s hours, 5 a.m. to noon.

“We’re also trying to get people who aren’t specifically getting on the train, but the bread and butter for us is the commuters,” Barrett said. “We really want to accommodate them.”

The motto of Steam Coffee Bar is “locally acquired, chef-inspired,” which speaks to both the provenance of its coffee and the experience of the shop’s owners.

Hot and iced coffees are made from Raus Coffee, a brand started by another Stamford native, Donny Raus. It’s the first retail outlet for Raus, a fellow University of Connecticut Stamford student and one-time Starbucks barista.

For those who prefer their hot drinks infused rather than brewed, Steam will also offer teas from Westport’s Arogya Teas.

Pennell, a trained pastry chef, worked as executive chef at Chocopologie in South Norwalk before devoting her time to Steam. The pair of entrepreneurs beat out several other bidders for the space at the Greens Farms station, including Cocoa Michelle, a shop near the Westport train station. Steam plans to expand to another spot in the Westport station in the fall.

“We actually didn’t have any background in coffee,” Barrett said. “But we both have strong restaurant and food service experience. It’s been good so far. We’re getting busier every day.”

Phil Brown has been commuting to New York City from the Greens Farms station for 16 years, and until a few months ago he and his wife, Lynn, had a morning routine. Lynn would pull the car up in front of the station, and Phil would go inside and buy them both coffee from George Russo, former proprietor of the Greens Farms C&P coffee shop.

But Russo closed earlier this year, and the Browns have had to find alternatives — Dunkin’ Donuts, Starbucks, a Mobil gasoline station — to get their morning java.

Not anymore.

“It’s nice to have a local place back again,” said Phil Brown, who lives in Westport and works in media sales. “It looks really nice. They did a great job in here.”